Kiss of Death
by a novelist
Summary: Sequel to Mercy Call on Me. Oneshot.


Just a story I wrote while trying to overcome writer's block. Enjoy!

* * *

At two minutes to show time, Beck peered from behind a heavy, dark curtain and into a crowd of strangers. Anxious voices filled the air as the guests waited patiently for UCLA's latest production. Though their opening night had been delayed due to the unexpected loss of one of their stars, the show was back, and it was still as strong as ever before.

He sighed and dropped the curtain before stepping away. He slowly made his way to a nearby chair and sank into it. He reached up and fingered the cross-shaped necklace that hung around his neck. He had owned the necklace for years, but only after Tori became sick did he begin wearing it again. His heart heavy, he closed his eyes in a desperate attempt to clear his mind. He took a moment to prepare for the night's performance.

"Are you all right?"

Startled, he quickly looked up. Lindsay Waters, Tori's understudy, was looking back at him, her baby blue eyes filled with worry.

Beck managed a weak smile in response. "I'm fine," he answered, though the tone of his voice easily tipped off his lie. "Just – just getting ready for tonight's show."

She nodded, and though she knew there was much more to his somber mood than what he was revealing, she let his comment slide.

"Places, everyone! Thirty seconds to show time!"

Beck stood and followed Lindsay, but not before taking a moment to pause at the curtain. He took a deep breath before whispering, "This one's for you, Tori."

He stepped out on stage.

* * *

Immediately following the show, Beck disappeared into his dressing room, where he very quickly stripped off his costume and changed into his street clothes. In the restroom backstage, he roughly scrubbed at his face in an attempt to remove the makeup. He dabbed his face dry with a tough paper towel. Finally, he retrieved his jacket and keys from his dressing room before leaving the theater without another word.

The rest of the cast, who were just making their way backstage, stopped a moment to watch him. "He was in a hurry," one of the extras noted. "He isn't even staying for the cast after party."

"Something is definitely bothering him." Lindsay tilted her head thoughtfully. "I wonder where he's going."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Beck pushed his way through a small crowd that was gathered in the hallway outside the waiting room at First Mercy Hospital. As he entered the waiting room, his eyes almost immediately fell on his girlfriend's parents, who were sitting at the back of the room, their hands clasped together, their eyes closed, and their heads held low in prayer.

He swallowed hard. The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach grew as he made his way to the worried parents. "How is she?"

Holly looked up at him sadly. "Not well," she whispered. "It's a miracle she's made it this long."

"She's been in and out of consciousness for the past several hours, and now her blood pressure has dropped." David nodded toward the door leading to the ICU rooms. "There's a nurse in there now, and the doctors are keeping an eye on her." He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall above the door. "They should hopefully let us back in to see her soon."

As if on cue, the waiting room door opened and Dr. Munz stepped into the room. He glanced down at the clipboard in his hands, then inquired, "Mr. and Mrs. Vega?"

Immediately, they turned their eyes toward the doctor. "Yes?" Holly answered.

Munz walked over to the couple. He eyed Beck uncertainly. "May I speak with you alone?"

David shook his head. "He's _fine,_" he responded. "He's part of this, too. How is she?"

Again, Munz glanced down at his clipboard, his eyes scanning the documents in his hands. "Ms. Vega's temperature has risen, leading to dehydration which led to dangerously low blood pressure. We've increased her fluid intake and given her medicine with hopes of getting her temperature down. We'll be monitoring both it and her blood pressure over the next twenty-four hours."

Holly released a trembling sigh. "May we see her?"

Munz nodded. "Yes, of course, though I must warn you that there is a good chance she won't be conscious. She's been put on a heavy dose of medication. She'll be pretty out of it for the next several days."

After thanking the doctor and after he had left the room, David and Holly stood and quickly made their way through the door and down the hall to see their daughter. Beck stayed behind.

Only one visitor at a time was permitted in Tori's room, forcing Beck to wait almost an hour before he was allowed to see her. When her parents finally returned to the waiting room, both teary-eyed, his heart sank a little more as he realized how truly limited his time with Tori was.

Neither of her parents said a word as they made their way back to their seats in the back corner of the room. Taking a deep breath, Beck stood and walked over to the door, but paused a moment, trying his best to brace himself for whatever was waiting for him behind it.

Back in the corner, Holly's composure finally broke, and her husband held her as she cried. Beck swallowed hard, then quickly left the room before he, too, could lose the strength he needed to get through this.

He followed the winding hallway until he finally stopped outside Tori's room, the last door on the left. Her door was already open. Wordlessly, he walked in and took a seat beside her bed. Gently, he took her hand and kissed it. "I'm here," he whispered.

She did not respond. Beck's fingers tightened over hers. He leaned back in the chair. His eyes never left her.

Three days had passed since Tori was admitted into the hospital, and already, doctors were considering her case nothing short of a miracle. Nonetheless, Beck knew it was only a matter of time before she was gone. Until that time came, he was determined to make every moment he had with her count.

He sat there quietly, listening to his girlfriend's labored breathing as she slept. Gently, he caressed her cheek. Her pale skin was hot to the touch. Softly, he said, "I love you."

Again, he received no response. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly midnight already. Sighing, he pulled the chair up closer to the bed, then reclined it back and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the long night ahead of him.

* * *

He awoke an hour later to the simple sound of his name. A young woman's voice – tired, weak, and hoarse – was gently calling out to him. Slowly he sat up, sore from sleeping in the stiff chair. He wearily ran a hand over his face before taking his girlfriend's hand.

"I'm right here," he answered. His voice, like hers, was strained from stress and lack of sleep. He kissed her hand gently. "I'm right here, babe."

Nearly a full minute passed by without a response. Assuming this was nothing more than another one of her fainting spells, he leaned back in the chair and tried to go back to sleep. He had just begun to doze off again when he heard a soft sigh escape her lips. She murmured, "I'm so glad you're here."

Again, Beck sat up in the stiff-backed chair. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, then gently caressed her cheek, brushing back a strand of hair from her own eyes. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked. His voice was strained from lack of sleep.

She shook her head slowly, her eyes still closed as she answered, "No. No, not at all." Her voice was growing more distant with each passing word. "How was the show?"

He smiled faintly. "It wasn't the same without you."

She exhaled a short laugh. Only then did she open her eyes to look up at him. "Thanks, babe. That makes me feel so much better."

"Anytime."

Silence fell between them. Beside Beck, the heart monitor's rhythmic sound filled the room in an oddly peaceful way. Down the hall somewhere, a telephone was ringing and low-toned voices were drawing nearer to Tori's room. But at that moment, nothing else in the world possibly could have distracted the young couple from one another as they spent their last few moments together.

As Beck studied his girlfriend carefully, he could tell that each breath she drew was harder to take than the last. Her skin had visibly paled in the past few minutes alone and, though he had thought it to be nearly impossible, her skin had become even more hot than before, indicating that her high fever had risen, obviously determined to single-handedly take on whatever the doctors could throw at it.

Unfortunately, it seemed to be winning.

Her eyes were nearly closed by now. Beck hesitated a moment, then leaned forward ever so slowly, closer and closer, until their lips were almost touching. And though Tori was barely conscious and incredibly weak at that, she somehow managed to turn away from him.

"No," she whispered. "No, Beck, you'll get sick, too."

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Yes, it does." She laced her fingers through his. Pain-filled eyes met his own as she said, "You can't give up just because of this. You're so much stronger than that. If everyone gave up after losing a loved one…well, can you image how messed up this world would be?"

Despite everything, he smiled softly.

She squeezed his hand gently. "I'll be all right. I promise. And you will be, too. Give it time, but don't – don't give up. If nothing else, live for me, and soon, we'll be together again."

He smiled sadly. He looked away from her and down at their clasped hands, avoiding her gaze with hopes of hiding the tears pooling in his eyes. He simply whispered, "I know."

For the longest time, the young couple fell silent as they simply enjoyed one another's presence. As he sat beside her that evening, Beck could tell that Tori was exhausted, but she was obviously fighting off sleep for his sake. He finally gently planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'll always love you," he said. "I hope you know that."

She smiled, and his heart melted at the sight. It was just as bright and beautiful as ever. "I love you, too." She sighed. "I'm so tired," she muttered. She winced as she struggled to shift positions in the bed. "I'm sorry, but do you mind if I rest for a little while?"

"No, not at all."

"Just a few minutes," she mumbled. Her voice grew more distant as her eyes slowly slid closed. Her grip on his hand tightened slightly. "Will you stay with me?"

Beck nodded. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised. He reached up and wiped at his eyes quickly, hoping she did not see him in this weak state. After a moment, however, he realized that she was all but gone, and his tears were the least of her worries.

It was the last time he spoke to her. As promised, he never left her side. He stayed with her, watching throughout the night as her heart rate continued to drop. He listened as the soft sound of her raspy breathing faded away. And only after she finally passed, shortly after two o'clock that morning, did he leave her side.

He stepped into the waiting room afterward with a broken heart. However, he couldn't help but feel some sort of relief. Over the past several days, she had dealt with aches and pains that never went away, but only grew worse. Over the past several days, she had laid in a hospital bed, nearly too weak to even move by herself. And finally, after spending several days waiting for an inevitable death, Tori's pain was gone and she could truly be at peace.

It was over.

* * *

A year later, Beck found himself standing behind a heavy, dark curtain. He peered out from behind it and found himself facing a crowd larger than he had ever dealt with before. But beyond the crowd, beyond the noise, beyond the lights, there was a camera placed high above the stage, and it was waiting for him. The thought was exhilarating.

"Mr. Oliver?"

He turned, dropping the curtain back into place. A young brunette wearing a headset was smiling at him. Her heavy French accent came out strong as she said, "We're on in five, sir."

He smiled back kindly. "Thanks."

As she turned to leave, he peered out at the audience again. He watched as more and more people filed into the room, taking their seats one by one. At this rate, it would be a full house for sure.

Perfect.

Someone's arm hooked through his own. He turned and smiled down at his costar, Samantha Harp.

"Are you ready for this, hon?"

He nodded. His eyes trailed back to the now-closed curtain, the only thing separating him from his audience. "I think so," he answered. He smiled faintly. "I must admit, I'm a little nervous. I've never performed in front of a studio audience before."

Samantha squeezed his hand comfortingly. "Once you're out on stage, you'll get lost in the show quickly. You'll play off of the audience's reactions, of course, but other than that…" she shrugged. "It's nothing more than a play put on in front of a camera."

Before Beck could respond, someone yelled, "Thirty seconds to show time!"

Samantha stepped away from him and without another word, started toward the curtain. Slowly, Beck did the same, though he couldn't quite ignore the disheartening feeling of déjà vu that suddenly overcame him.

Again, he paused at the curtain and closed his eyes. His right hand gripped the curtain tightly while his left snaked up until it rested on the cross-shaped necklace that once again hung around his neck. He released a trembling breath then whispered, "This one's for you, babe."

He stepped out on stage.


End file.
